Paving-block



(No Modei.) 2 Sheetsl-Sheet L H. BRUNSON.

PAVING BLOCK.

Patented Peb. 23, 1892.

W INVENTOR WITNESSES (N6 Model.) I 2 sheets-sheen :2.l

H. BRUNSON.

PAVING BLOCK No. 469,229. Patented Feb. 23,v 1892.

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we Norms paens no :mow L 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICEQ HORACE IERUNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

l PAVING-BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,229, dated February 23, 1892.

Application filed May 25, 1891. Serial No. 394,016. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it kn own that I, HORACE BRUNsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Cook county, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sidewalk Paving-Blocks, of which the following is a specication.

IIeretofore in the construction of artificial stone sidewalks and similar matters it has been practically impossible to form largesized blocks, which could be separately laid and taken up when necessary, owing to the danger of breaking the blocks, and, further, when said blocks have been made of any considerable size it has been found that they are subject to the action of the elements and are liable to heave up at some portion and perhaps become depressed at others and to crack or otherwise become deranged, and perhaps useless, and the result has been that when cement, artificial stone, or other lnaterial has been laid in large masses to form the sidewalk it hasbeen applied in a plastic state and made to conform to the shape, size, and portion required and then been allowed to set.

The object of my invention is to provide a large artificial block of cement, buildingstone, or similar material, which can be laid and taken up and replaced, and which will retain the proper and desired contour notwithstanding the effects of the elements; and to these ends it consists in the sidewalk-block made up of a suitable cement or composition and provided with an internal strengtheningframe, which, is embedded in the material, maintaining it rigid under all conditions.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the most approved form of embodying my invention.

In Figure l I have shown a plan view of the frame, in Fig. 2 a longitudinal cross-section, and in Fig. 3 a transverse cross-section of the same. Fig. fi is a modification, and Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical, longitudinal, and transverse sections of the same.

The blocks which I make may be of any desired size, preferably from six to eight feet 'long and three to four broad, and of sufficient thickness to be readily used under the desired conditions. These blocks may be composed of any cement, compound, or artificial stone or the like, and in order to strengthen the block I embed therein or form the cement over a frame-work. This frame-work maybe of any desired materialfurnishing the proper strength, but preferably is of cast-iron, as this is a convenientand cheap method of forming the frame in a single piece.

The frame consists of the side pieces AA', connected by the end pieces B B', and thereby preferably forming a rectangular framework. These side and end pieces are connected by the cross-pieces C C', preferably extending froni opposite angles of the frame, and the cross-pieces are shown situated above the center of the vertical pieces constituting the side and end.

Arranged below the central portion of the side and end pieces and projecting inward are the side and end iianges D D' E E', and these flanges are joined to the side and end pieces at their lower edges, as shown, and are preferably integral therewith. The flanges are made of a contour corresponding substantially with the spaces between the cross-pieces and the side and end pieces. All of the edges of the sides, ends, and cross-pieces and flanges are preferably rounded or tapered, so as to make a good joint with the cement or other material constituting the block. This material is packed into and around the supporting-frame and preferably made to extend an inch or so above the top of the frame, as indicated in dotted lines a, Figs. 2 and 3, and while I prefer to have the flanges on a level with the block and the sides and ends coincident with the sides and ends of the block, I sometimes completely surround the frame with the 1naterial constituting the block, a1- lowing it to entend a short distance beyond and below the frame.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the frame made in sections, the sides A A' being shown as integral with the side iianges D D' and the ends B B' as integral with the end iianges E E'. The cross-pieces C C' in this instance are each made in two pieces, the pieces being connected, respectively, with the end pieces.

At the intersection of the cross-pieces I have shown a plate G, extending between the contiguous ends of the cross-pieces. These cross-pieces, also, are represented in this figure as being narrower than in the first forni described, and it is evident that the configu- I o'o ration of the various parts of the frame may be changed to snit the needs of any 'particular use to which the blocks are to be put, and the frame may be made, as first described,in an integral casting, or the parts may be made separate or in connection with 'one another, as maybe most convenient. In all instances, however, the frame-work is embedded in the block and serves to form a support therefor. When the cement or other material has become set, the block asthus constructed becomes rigid and hard and can be laid in position and when necessary removed for purposes of repair, for placing of pipes, sewers, &c., without danger of destroying it, and I have found that it is not subject to upheavals or breaking due to the force of the elements, and when once laid in position it will last a long time and retains a smooth and even surface and form-s a desirable sidewalk or pavement.

It will be understood that the surface of the material of the block may be ornamented or colored in any manner desired to suit the particular purpose for which it is to be used.

lVhat I claim is A sidewalk-block consisting of a mass ot' cement or similar material having embedded therein a rigid frame-work consisting of the side and end pieces, the cross-pieces extending centrally between the side and end pieces, and the inwardly-projecting flanges extending from the base of the side and end pieces, the edges of the frame and side pieces being beveled, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HORACE BRUNSON. 1

Witnesses:

E. D. THAXTER, T. H. GAULT. 

